House of Cards
by Kamikazee
Summary: BtVSWWE SLASH A house of cards always falls down when you least expect it to.
1. Prologue

House of Cards  
Prologue  
  
Author: Kamikazee  
  
Email: neo_kamikazee@hotmail.com  
  
Rating:  
  
Characters/Pairings: Willow/HBK, Xander/Chris Jericho, others to be decided  
  
Warnings: Slash, if that's not your thing, don't read  
  
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer/WWE  
  
Spoilers: BtVS - Season 6, WWE - Set Around August 18, 2003 (the episode where Bishcoff kissed Linda McMahon)  
  
Summary: House's of Cards always fall down when you least expect them too.  
  
Archive: Twisting the Hellmouth, Personal Space, anyone else, please e-mail me the URL and I'd be happy to let you post it.  
  
Author's Notes: I've had this idea for awhile. I've also been in a Xander phase. Big thanks to Grasshopper for being so supportive of my fist attempts at slashing him. Author's Notes 2: The lines at the very beginning are from the season 6 finale, Grave. I got them from the transcripts at www.buffyworld.com.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not claim to own any of the characters or storylines from either Buffy the Vampire Slayer or the WWE. No copyright infringement is intended.  
  
~  
  
"Hey, black-eyed girl. Whatcha doin'"  
  
"You've been my best friend my whole life. World gonna end. where else would I want to be?"  
  
"I love you. I loved crayon-breaky Willow and I love. scary veiny Willow."  
  
"So, if I'm going out, it's here. If you wanna kill the world? Well, then start with me. I've earned that."  
  
With a thrash Willow woke up, drenched in a cold sweat. The young redhead jumped, eyes darting around her, trying to get some idea of where she was. It didn't take long to realise that she was in a car. The sky outside was dark, and the scenery outside the window rushed by in a blur of shadows. Turning towards the driver, she received a second shock.  
  
"Xander?" her voice was unsteady, and raspy from lack of use and dryness. The young man behind the wheel didn't seem to notice however as he turned his head slightly in her direction, keeping an eye on the road.  
  
"Hey, Wills," the voice was quiet, and it was easy to tell that there was strong emotion behind the simple statement. His brown eyes glowed concern, but Willow didn't focus in on that. No, the woman instead looked to the scrape that adorned his cheek, a scrape that she had given him.  
  
Tears began to flow down Willow's face, and soon enough sobs began to break from her lips. Xander slowed the car onto the shoulder before stopping completely and turning to face his best friend. Without a word said he pulled the sobbing girl into his arms. She tried to push away from him, but he held her tight.  
  
That was how they sat for a good hour. The tears flowed and Xander whispered soothing encouragements into Willow's ears as she sat, berating herself, demeaning herself. When exhaustion finally returned to the redhead, and she drifted off into an uneasy sleep, Xander moved her back onto her seat, and continued driving.  
  
It was several hours later when Willow woke up again. This time, her disorientation was better, but the pained look in her eyes remained. The pair sat in silence for several minutes, quietly reflecting. Their thoughts were very similar in some ways, but vastly different in most of the important ways. It wasn't long before this was made apparent.  
  
"You're taking me away to kill me, aren't you?" the question was voiced softly, almost imperceptibly. Xander heard her all the same. His head swivelled around to face his childhood friend at the same time as he stomped on the brake pedal, bringing the car to a skidding stop.  
  
"Oh, Wills." his voice was sad and compassionate, his deep brown eyes surveying her with the protectiveness of a brother, despite past fluking. He didn't, however, get a chance to finish his statement.  
  
"It's okay, you know," her voice quiet and sorrowful, "I deserve it, for everything I've done." Her head was hung, as though she only had to wait for, what she believed, was her just punishment.  
  
Anger flashed into the brunette's eyes. He took his friends chin in hand and forced her to establish eyes contact. "I don't ever want you to say that again. You hear me. You do not deserve to die, Willow, and you never will. Yes, you did some bad things, but one mistake doesn't doom you for life. I never want to hear you talk like that again."  
  
Xander quickly turned away, trying to control his anger at his best friend's willingness to accept death. As it was, he didn't notice the flash of life his tirade had sparked in Willow. The small progress was quickly hidden under the layers of sadness and despair, but for a split second, it had been there.  
  
With a sigh, Xander brought his emotions under control. He slowly began to drive once again, concentrating on the road for several minutes before once again broaching conversation. "I'm taking you away. I don't know what they'd do if I took you to them, so I'm going to find us somewhere safe."  
  
Socked green eyes turned to him, disbelief evident on the tired and guilt- ridden face. Willow looked at Xander as though he had grown a second head, but the man continued regardless.  
  
"We can start a new life, Wills," his voice was quiet and serious, "Away from the Hellmouth, away from all the bad. It won't be to bad, I know someone who should give me a job."  
  
"Xander." her voice was little more then a whisper, and there were tears once again in her eyes, "I can't. I can't let you do this for me."  
  
Xander turned towards her, a small smile on his lips, "You're not letting me do this. You need to go away, and like I said, where else would I want to be."  
  
The redhead reluctantly nodded before turning back to face the passenger window. Lowering into her seat, she slowly closed her eyes, hoping that this time, she might be able to get some real rest.  
  
Confident that Willow was sated, for now, Xander returned his direction to the road. Or, more specifically, where the road would ultimately lead. If there was anywhere else he thought he could take Willow. There was no sense going over it again. This was what he decided. He many not be happy with his decision, but as long as it kept Willow safe.  
  
~  
  
"So, let me get this straight."  
  
"You've heard it three times!" Xander angrily pushed up from his spot in front of the mahogany desk, pushing back a strand of way-ward dark brown hair. "You're obviously not going to give me the job, so I might as well just leave."  
  
The young man was halfway to the door before he was interrupted by a deceptively casual voice calling him back. "Wait." The voice said, exuding confidence, "I suppose I might be able to find you a position. You know, out of the bottom of my heart."  
  
Xander couldn't control the derisive snort that escaped his lips, and the other man sent him a glare. "We're going to need to get a few things straight though. I do this, and you listen to me. That's the way it's going to work."  
  
Xander looked at the man in front of him, emotions he had buried years ago coming to the surface, "Why don't you listen to me, dad, the only reason I'm here is Willow. Don't think for one second."  
  
"No, son, you listen to me," his voice took on a dangerous tone, "It doesn't matter the reason you're here, but you are. And now that you are, you're going to play by my rules."  
  
Xander's eyes flashed with restrained fury before he turned and stalked towards the door. As he got through the frame, a mocking voice threw one final comment in his direction.  
  
"You start work in two days, and I expect you to be there nice and early."  
  
As the young man made his way back to his hotel with an irritating expression, the man in the office had the opposite reaction. There was a smirk on the face Eric Bischoff that did not bode well for whoever it was directed to. 


	2. Chapter 1

House of Cards  
Chapter 1  
  
Author: Kamikazee  
  
Email: neo_kamikazee@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Characters/Pairings: Willow/HBK, Xander/Chris Jericho, others to be decided (it's going to be a couple chapters before the pairings come out, I don't want to rush the fic)  
  
Warnings: Slash, if that's not your thing, don't read  
  
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer/WWE  
  
Spoilers: BtVS - Season 6, WWE - Set Around August 18, 2003 (the episode where Bischoff kissed Linda McMahon)  
  
Summary: House's of Cards always fall down when you least expect them too.  
  
Archive: Twisting the Hellmouth, Personal Space, Fanfiction.net, anyone else, please e-mail me the URL and I'd be happy to let you post it.  
  
Author's Notes: Thanks for all the encouraging feedback people sent on the prologue, it's definitely encouraging to hear thing like that. Notes 2: Okay, so since season 6 ended in June 2002, that's when the prologue was set. Now, the fic is set in August 2003. So, it's been a little over a year since the prologue.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not claim to own any of the characters or storylines from either Buffy the Vampire Slayer or the WWE. No copyright infringement is intended.  
  
A little rundown of what's been going on in the WWE when this fic takes place:  
  
Eric kisses Linda Shane vs. Eric coming up at Summerslam Jericho vs. Nash Hair vs. Hair Almost Summerslam Test just won back Stacy Kane has gone insane  
  
~  
  
Xander took a second to relax in the glory that was an Eric Bischoff-free Raw. It was the first time in a while that he didn't have to worry about his annoying father sending him on pointless and demeaning 'quests'. He was still playing his part as the Raw gofer, but at least Steve Austin was tolerable in his requests.  
  
Taking a deep breath, the young man continued on his search for Shawn Michaels. The co-gm wanted to talk to the Heartbreak Kid, so he had obviously sent Xander to find him. It was just his luck that the man had a dressing room on the opposite side of the arena.  
  
Walking along the mostly empty hallways, Xander let his mind drift. It had been a difficult year, but they had survived. It's funny, but the WWE was actually closer to home then he had thought it would be. With all the gratuitous violence and soap opera like drama he had barely felt homesick at all.  
  
Of course, that was a dirty lie. He hated his job and he hated his boss, well, one of his bosses. The only thing that made it at all tolerable was that Willow was getting better. Xander would have continued in this train of thinking, but he was knocked, quite literally, out of his thoughts, as he collided with another body.  
  
Looking up he had to fight the urge not to groan out loud in frustration. It was just his luck to run into one of the more annoying wrestlers on the roster. This should be interesting.  
  
"What do you think you're doing," the cocky voice was loud and abrasive. Of course, that seemed to be its natural tone. Xander rolled his eyes at the taller man before replying.  
  
"Walking. You?" Xander had made a weak attempt to control his sarcasm, but it had slipped out all the same. Not the smartest idea when dealing with this man, but it was to late now. He would just have to deal with the consequences.  
  
"Who do you think you are? Don't you ever. EVER, speak back to me like that again," The voice raised another level. Chris Jericho had an affronted look on his face, as though he couldn't imagine a stagehand standing up for himself. Putting his hands on his tight-clad hips he glared at the shorter man.  
  
Xander lifted his hand and gave a saucy wave to the blonde, "Xander Harris, General Manager's assistant." He followed his introduction by sidestepping the wrestler and continuing on his path down the hallway, leaving Jericho behind him.  
  
If he had turned back, he might have noticed the blue eyes on him. He also might have noticed the speculative look. It might have brought on a blush if he had seen that those shocking eyes were focused quite intently on his ass.  
  
Of course, he didn't notice, and continued on his way. Xander had a habit of doing that, that is, ignoring what he didn't want to see. He definitely didn't want to see Chris Jericho checking him out.  
  
It was soon enough that, the afore-introduced, Xander Harris stood outside HBK's door. Knocking he shifted impatiently outside the plain grey door. There was a gruff invitation from inside and Xander entered the room.  
  
It was the usual changing room, several rows of low wooden benches and some hooks and lockers. The standing tour was cut short when the brunette had to quickly dodge a boot that went flying past his head. Looking towards the only occupant quickly, he saw the other boot coming off and quickly held his hands up in an attempt at self-defense. "Whoa, there. Put the shoe down on the ground and back away."  
  
The man looked up, eyes burning with anger at the earlier attack by Evolution. "What do you want?" the gruff Texas accent was even more pronounced then normal, as the usually polite man lost his cool.  
  
"Don't shoot the messenger," Xander's sentence had become somewhat of a mantra when dealing with the moody superstars of the WWE, "Austin wants to see you." Shawn sighed and ran a hand through his blonde hair, ruffling the strands even more then they already were.  
  
"And what does Austin want?" the voice was somewhat more controlled this time around, but the southern accent was still quite pronounced. Xander gave a shrug in response.  
  
"How should I know?" his voice was deceptively calm, "I'm just the hired help." Underneath he had to control his distaste at his own position. He really wouldn't have minded the job if he wasn't treated as a lesser being, and if Eric Bischoff wasn't his boss, and maybe if. The man forcefully shook his head; nothing good would come out of going there.  
  
Motioning with his hand, he left the dressing room, hoping the man would follow him. Lucky for Xander, Shawn Michaels did, and the two made their way back to the impromptu office that had been set up for the General Managers that night.  
  
There were greetings thrown in the hallway by various superstars, most of them to the wrestler known as HBK. There were some words sent towards Xander, mostly by the other crewmembers that pulled the show together.  
  
It ended up taking the two men much less time to return then it had taken Xander to fetch Shawn. The younger man was forced to hurry to keep up with the wrestler's larger stride. They stopped outside the door marked clearly with "GM" and Shawn knocked sharply.  
  
"Come in," the voice of Steve Austin called to them. Xander sighed, recognizing the angry tone in the man's voice. Dealing with a pissed off rattlesnake was not on the top of his fun things to do list.  
  
Inside, the two men were greeted with the sight of a pacing Scott Steiner and Austin rubbing his temple. Big Poppa Pump was ranting and raving without stop at the general manager. Looking over at them, Stone Cold mouthed two words, "Lost Stacy."  
  
Xander immediately adopted a look of disgust. It was barbaric what was going on with Stacy. Not only the fact that she was now back with Test, but the mere idea of 'owning' the young woman was so incredibly stupid. He couldn't imagine how he would react if something like that happened to his Willow.  
  
"Listen." Steve interrupted the other man, "I can't help you. You lost, Test won. That's all there is to it. I have other things to deal with it." The statement was blunt and to the point, something Xander had come to expect from his boss. The man may not be sensitive, but he was a hell of a lot better then Bischoff in Xander's opinion.  
  
"Shawn, sit." The next words from the rattlesnake's mouth weren't even formed as a question, and the blonde man bristled at the order, before stiffening and taking a seat. "I'm supposed to sell you some shit about not holding the company responsible for any injury you might get at Summerslam."  
  
As the man continued, Xander moved towards the door, figuring he could grab something to eat before he got another task. Just as he reached out to touch the door handle his boss called him back. "Stick around, Harris, I've got something for you to do."  
  
Xander sighed as he moved back into the room, settling himself down and blocking out the conversation going on around him. So much for a snack break.  
  
~  
  
Xander was one of the last of the crew to filter out at the end of the night. The superstars had long since left, and the ring had been brought down. He had supervised, in the name of the general managers, as the tech equipment was dismantled, Steve Austin having begged off the duty.  
  
As he walked out the door towards his rental car, he considered picking up ice cream. He knew Willow would be up, she never went to bed without him there, and they could have some quality best friend time together.  
  
He smiled at the idea. He may not like his job that much, but he did have everything he needed. Of course, the only thing he really thought he needed was Willow Rosenburg, so it wasn't a hard thing to achieve. As many negative thoughts as he had, he wasn't unhappy with his life. Xander Harris had convinced himself quite along time ago that he didn't want or need anything more.  
  
Lost in his thoughts, he yet again didn't notice the man leaning in front of him. Now, Chris Jericho is not a man who likes being ignored, so that obviously didn't last long. "Well, lookie who it is again." Xander's head snapped up as he noticed the other man in the parking garage for the first time.  
  
Taking in the taller man leaning against a car in front of him, Xander felt an edge of annoyance. Leave it to Jericho to ruin his good mood. The man gave him a slow look up and down that caused the brunette to move uncomfortably.  
  
"I don't see it," the self-proclaimed King of the World admitted to the younger man. Xander look of wary irritation turned to confusion in a flash as he looked at Jericho.  
  
"Don't see what?" he asked, generally curious. The man smirked at him and Xander's mood dropped another notch, realizing to late that he'd just walked into a putdown.  
  
"The thing that makes you think that you even have the right to stand in my presence." The arrogant tone of voice was like sandpaper against Xander's temper, and Xander didn't have the longest fuse in the box.  
  
"What makes you think that you have the right to talk to people like that?" Xander's voice was loaded with venom as he practically spat at the blonde man. All right, so Xander had one of the shortest fuses in the box, and coupled with his incredible hate of being demeaned, his temper could get pretty hot.  
  
Chris Jericho replied simply with another one of those amazingly sexy smirks. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Xander caught himself in horror. He did not just think that Chris Jericho's smirk was sexy. That was not him. He did not think those things about men. Willow was the wacky new-age homosexual.  
  
By the time the man had convinced himself of the temporary insanity that had caused his thought, Chris Jericho had left the garage. With a sigh, Xander Harris walked the short distance to his car before pulling out and heading towards the closest convenience store. He definitely needed ice cream now.  
  
~  
  
Okay, chapter 1 complete. Sorry for the wait, I meant to get this out sooner, but real life interrupted. That is, real life and sleep deprivation :D.  
  
Okay, so there was some Xander/Jericho development this chapter. I really do love writing these two together. Willow will come in next chapter, never fear. We also get some plot development next chapter, isn't that exciting?  
  
Thanks for everyone who reviewed; you guys really make me feel like I'm not the only one who enjoys these.  
  
~ Kamikazee 


	3. Chapter 2

House of Cards  
Chapter 2  
  
Author: Kamikazee  
  
Email: neo_kamikazee@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Characters/Pairings: Willow/HBK, Xander/Chris Jericho, Warnings: Slash, if that's not your thing, don't read  
  
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer/WWE  
  
Spoilers: BtVS - Season 6, WWE - Set Around August 18, 2003 (though, everythings going to be a little screwed up)  
  
Summary: Houses of cards always fall down when you least expect them too.  
  
Archive: Twisting the Hellmouth, Personal Space, Fanfiction.net, anyone else, please e-mail me the URL and I'd be happy to let you post it.  
  
Author's Notes: Sorry it took a while to get this out. I had a completely different chapter and then decided to scrap it half way through. Then I wrote this over about a week. Notes 2: Okay, so since season 6 ended in June 2002, that's when the prologue was set. Now, the fic is set in August 2003. So, it's been a little over a year since the prologue. Notes 3: Thanks for all the encouraging feedback. It really does help.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not claim to own any of the characters or storylines from either Buffy the Vampire Slayer or the WWE. No copyright infringement is intended.  
  
~  
  
"Are you sure about this?" Xander looked worriedly across the hotel room at his redheaded best friend. Willow Rosenberg was sitting on one of the two twin beds, casually flicking channels on the TV. She looked up at him when she noticed his stare.  
  
"Yes, Xander," she replied, her voice quiet and each word carefully thought out. She had been like that ever since the incident, carefully planning everything she said before she said it. Of course, she didn't talk all that much. "I want to see other people. I want to see people smile and laugh and act normal."  
  
Xander sighed at the wishful expression on her face. Her wide green eyes were just begging him without words. He knew that he would give in, but that didn't mean he had to do it without a fight, "You're looking for happiness in the WWE? Willow, these people fight for a living."  
  
Willow let a small wistful smile come to her lips at that, "Sort of like we used to do." Xander clammed up after that, not wanting to think about Sunnydale. That would just lead to thinking about why they left Sunnydale.  
  
"Fine, you can come to the taping on Monday," Xander finally gave in, attempting to make a flourish of it. "As long as you promise to stay with the referees for the show, alright? There are some people I don't want you to interact with." The young man involuntarily thought about his confrontation with Chris Jericho a couple of days ago.  
  
Willow nodded compliantly, a happy smile on her face, "Can do. As long as I'm around other people. You're great Xander, but I need to see some normal people."  
  
Xander looked at her with an arched eyebrow, "Normal?"  
  
~  
  
As the two adults entered the arena, both their mannerisms were decidedly weird. A woman and a man, neither of them was interacting the way one would expect for people entering a WWE event. Whether you were an employee or a guest, this was odd behaviour.  
  
The redhead was looking around with a look of wide-eyed curiosity. That in itself wasn't surprising. What was was the fact that she had a look in her eyes that she expected someone to start yelling at her at any moment. She expected to be ostracized and criticized.  
  
The brunette on the other hand, had a look of extreme protection and wariness on his handsome face. His eyes were twitching, as though he expected a physical attack to be sprung any second on him and his companion. He stayed close to the young woman, glaring at shadows and scowling at nothing.  
  
When the two reached the door marked 'referee' for the night, they both let out an audible sigh of relief. Both Willow and Xander had agreed to it, but neither had been prepared for Willow's first time willingly going into a highly populated area in a while.  
  
"Okay, you should be fine here," Xander said as he opened the plain door. Inside were a couple of chairs and a large table, littered with papers. A couple doors led to what can be assumed is the changing area. There were three men idling around, not yet in their striped referee jerseys.  
  
Xander was greeted with shouts of greeting from the men, which he returned with a small smile. When their voices died down he took a deep breath before pulling Willow forward from behind him.  
  
"Guys this is Willow," he said, smiling hopefully at the other men. They were nice guys, but Willow was still so twitchy. He hoped he hadn't made a mistake. "Willow this is the guys."  
  
At that comment, Willow gave him a light slap on the arm, frowning up at him. "And do the guys have names?" Xander gave a small smile to his best friend before slowly shaking his head.  
  
"No," he said gravely, "It's such a tragic story of drama and." Xander was cut off as one of the other men coughed loudly. He walked forward and held out his hand to Willow. The woman looked at it seriously before slowly reaching hers out and shaking.  
  
"I'm Charles Robinson," he introduced, a grin on his face, "Those two over there are Earl Hebner and Chad Patton. It's nice to meet you, Willow."  
  
Willow smiled softly at the man before clearing her throat, "It's nice to meet you, too. I hope you don't mind me hanging around tonight. Just wanted to get out for a bit."  
  
The man who had been introduced to her, as Earl laughed reassuringly, "It's no problem, Willow. In fact, we were wondering if we would ever get to meet you. Xander's been here for a year, and all he does in his spare time is talk about you."  
  
Willow felt a blush rising in her cheeks as she glared at her dark haired friend. Xander gave her a big smile. "Well, I can see your settling in just fine. Remember, don't wander off alone." His smile turned slightly downwards, "In fact, maybe it's best if you just don't leave the room." Willow rolled her eyes skyward. "I'll drop in when I can."  
  
Xander quickly dropped a kiss on her cheek before heading out the door. He hoped desperately tonight went well.  
  
~  
  
Willow was bored.  
  
This was not how she thought she would be feeling. She expected to be nervous, excited, maybe even a little bit scared. But, not bored. Then again, she also didn't expect the referee's locker room to be this incredibly dull.  
  
Now, don't get her wrong, the referees were nice guys. Especially Charles, who had made it a point to talk to her and involve her in some of the conversations. It was just; they were boring conversations for anyone who wasn't a referee.  
  
So, here she was, sitting on a bench, fidgeting. The guys were involved pretty heavily in some conversation that she wasn't listening to, and probably wouldn't understand even if she were. Rising slowly, Willow headed towards the door, trying not to disturb the others.  
  
Xander's warning came involuntarily back into her head, but she shook it off. What could go wrong? She was just going to slip out and find a vending machine. Grab a couple of snacks and come back. They probably wouldn't even notice that she was gone.  
  
Besides, it wasn't as if anyone who saw her was going to pay any attention. I mean, she was just Willow. They probably wouldn't even care. They had more important things to do.  
  
As she slipped out the door, it was those thoughts that were running through her head. She kept up the mantra as she started down the hallway. She was just kind of drifting, hoping she would come across something soon.  
  
Lost in her thoughts of safety, Willow didn't even look up as she turned the corner. It was only when she collided rather forcefully with a hard wall of muscle that she realized she wasn't alone.  
  
Looking forward, Willow found herself face to face with a blue dress shirt covering a large chest. It was a very nice shirt, probably silk, she thought. The chest was nice too. A little on the bulky side, but she supposed some people might like that kind of thing. Of course, it wasn't like she was noticing, because she was a lesbian recovering from her lover's death, but.  
  
Willow's mind babble was interrupted by a voice to her right, "Well, well, what do we have hear?" Looking sharply in the direction of the voice, she took in the well-dressed older man. Seeing his hair, she balked. It was a platinum blonde-yellow colour.  
  
She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking back at the man she had walked into, she looked up. And up. He was tall. And blonde. And had an abnormally large nose. She was quite content to phase out in her thoughts when he spoke, "Well, Ric, looks like I found myself a little present here."  
  
At those words, Willow jumped back away from him. She turned around to run, only to find herself blocked by another man. This one was younger, with dark hair. She supposed he would be pretty good looking under most circumstances, but the smile he was giving her was just a little bit creepy.  
  
She backtracked away from him, only to end up exactly where she started, against the large blonde man. He chuckled as his hands came down on her shoulders. "Looks like it's your lucky day. You get a taste of Evolution."  
  
Willow laughed nervously along with the men before managing a response, flustered as she was, "Gee, thanks for the offer, but really, I should be leaving. You know, things to do." As she tried to walk away hands tightened on her shoulders.  
  
"Leave?" the blonde man, who was obviously there leader said, "Well, that would be terribly insulting, wouldn't it Randy?"  
  
The dark haired man leered at her before answering, "Terribly rude, Hunter." The blonde, she guessed his name was Hunter, began to let his hands drift lower before she leapt away in outrage.  
  
"No! No touchy!" she cried, turning wide eyes on the man, "No touchy! You don't touch. That was bad." Willow could feel the slight stirring of her magic wanting to be used but she pushed them down. She wasn't about to ruin everything, not now.  
  
As Hunter moved forward and trapped her between him and Randy, Willow felt the stirrings of panic inside. The magic was straining against her shields and she didn't know if she would be able to stop it from coming out.  
  
"Hey!" a voice called out from somewhere out of sight, "What do you think you're doing?" Willow could hear footfalls coming toward them and sighed audibly in relief. At least, she was relieved until she looked up and saw the anger in the eyes of Hunter.  
  
His eyes flashed with anger as he looked towards her possible rescuer, "Why don't you just stay out of this, Michaels? It's none of your business." The words were practically growled. Willow tried to peek over her shoulder, but Randy was in her way.  
  
"Well," the unknown man replied, "I'm making it my business. She doesn't seem to want your attention, so maybe you should just back off. Wouldn't want you to get hurt before the Elimination Chamber."  
  
Hunter scowled darkly before slowly stepping away from Willow. With a small hand motion, he called Randy off as well. The two of them joined Ric. Hunter let one last message before parting, "This isn't over." Whether he was talking to her or the new man, she wasn't sure.  
  
Willow was shaking as she slowly turned to face her rescuer. Her eyes were cast downward, and all she could see were worn boots and the bottoms of a pair of jeans. That's all she planned on seeing as well.  
  
It was a few tense seconds later that he finally cleared his throat and began talking again, "I'm Shawn." He had a pretty strong Texan accent, "Uhhh. Is there anywhere I can take you? Someone you want to go to?" He seemed nervous to be dealing with the still shaking redhead.  
  
Willow let her eyes slowly move up the jean clad legs, onto the black t- shirt and bare muscular arms, and finally to the face. He was handsome, with long blonde hair and a weathered face of someone who's seen the worst the world could offer and fought through it. In a strange way, he reminded her of Buffy. A jaded but optimistic light shone in his blue eyes.  
  
She processed his words. Slowly, trying to control the quiver in her voice, she managed to answer him, "Xander. Xander Harris. Can you take me to see Xander Harris?" She felt so small and weak. She just wanted her Xander- shaped friend.  
  
He looked thoughtful for a second before the proverbial light bulb lit up. "Xander. That's right. He's Bischoff's assistant right? I'll take you to the office."  
  
After that answer, Willow contented herself to following Shawn silently through the corridors. Taking deep breaths, she was glad that he wasn't pushing conversation. She didn't think that she could handle that right now.  
  
As they turned yet another corridor, Willow could hear the sound of raised voices. Shawn sent Willow a perplexed frown as they turned the last corridor, both of them stopping at what they saw.  
  
Christian was ranting and raving, his arms swinging about him in indignation. Eric Bischoff was yelling right back at the blonde. Chris Jericho was draped casually against the wall, looking on in mild interest. Xander was on the other side of the hallway, randomly shooting non-helpful comments into the fray.  
  
"It's not fair! Test has a manager! Test! If he has one, we should get one too!" the young man was screaming at his boss, any maturity lost in anger, "It's just not fair!"  
  
Xander let a smile quip his lips, "It's an outrage. He can't treat you like this. You should sue." Christian looked at the dark haired man in interest as Eric glared at his son.  
  
"He's right! I should sue!" Christian exclaimed, "For, like, mistreatment of an employee! That's right! If you don't give us a manager, we'll sue! Right, Chris?"  
  
Jericho opened his mouth to reply to his partner, when Xander suddenly noticed Willow and Shawn at the end of the hallway. Any words Jericho had been preparing to say were cut off by the frantic "Willow!" that echoed in the hallway.  
  
Immediately, the three other sets of eyes in the hallway swivelled to face the newcomers. The scrutiny was a bit too much for Willow and she quickly stepped behind Shawn. Her attempt at hiding didn't last long before Xander pulled her into a hug.  
  
"What are you doing here?" was his worried question, "I thought I told you to stay with the referees." His brown eyes were concerned and Willow felt a pang of guilt. She put him through so much.  
  
"I'm sorry," she replied quietly, "I just went out for a drink." her voice faded out as she clung to her best friend. She quickly buried her head in his chest. Xander's arms held her close as he looked up at Shawn for an explanation.  
  
The heartbreak kid looked down at the petite redhead fondly, "I found her being accosted by Evolution. I scared them off."  
  
Xander looked horrified, angry and relieved all at the same time as his arms tightened around Willow. "Thanks man, I owe you one."  
  
Shawn simply nodded. It was then that Eric decided to interrupt. "You're guest is causing problems among my superstars," Xander looked up sharply at his father. If looks could kill, Bischoff would be dead. "She's messing things up and she's not even being useful."  
  
Everyone in the hallway was so fixed on the altercation; they didn't notice the dangerous smile slip across Chris Jericho's face. The other blonde Canadian pushed himself away from the wall before disrupting the conversation.  
  
"We want her as our manager." Everyone looked at him in shock and confusion at the statement. It took a couple seconds before their previous conversation came back to them. Christian and Eric had matching twisted smiles. Shawn and Xander had matching disgusted expressions. Willow was still trying to disappear into Xander.  
  
"No." Xander's voice was firm. He was not going to let this happen. "No fucking way. Willow doesn't work here, you can't make her do anything." He glared at Jericho, anger evident in every part of him.  
  
Bischoff's eyes turned positively gleeful at that, "But you do. I gave you this job, out of the kindness of my heart, and what do you do to repay me? You refuse this one little request. Well, that's not very nice."  
  
Xander snorted and continued to stand tall, supporting his conviction. "You know, we really don't need you around here. Your cooperation skills are really hurting us. In fact, I might have to let you go."  
  
Both Willow and Xander tensed at that remark. They needed this job. It was what was keeping them going. It kept them warm, with food and shelter. Most important of all, it kept them moving. Losing it would be a very bad thing.  
  
Xander didn't care though. This was Willow they were talking about. He wasn't about to put her through that. Opening his mouth to tell his father exactly where he could stuff his job, he was cut short by Willow.  
  
"I'll do it."  
  
~  
  
Now, weren't you all dazzled by the shiny new chapter? So sorry it's taken so long. I've been kind of eurgh when it comes down to writing lately. Thankfully, my muses are looking better now. Thanks for all the support, I couldn't do this without you guys. 


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